The Chupacabra
by macrauchenia
Summary: "It's too late for me, Quinn! Run while you can!" Perdido Beach's favourite fisherman has a frightening encounter with a Latin American beast from his nightmares. Created just for Halloween 2010!


**Hello everyone! This is technically my first published story on here so I hope it's not a complete fail. This is what you get when you cross a summer camp prank, a boring week of class, and a cryptid legend. I rushed this out as fast as I could to get it out in time for Halloween.  
****Disclaimer: I do not own Gone, any of the characters created by Michael Grant, or the legend of the Chupacabra. I wish I did, but I don't.**

_Chupacabra: A Latin-American cryptid who is fabled to suck the blood out of live stock such as goats and sheeps; basically the vampire of the South Americas. The most common description is a coyote-like beast with scaley skin and glowing red eyes. _

* * *

Quinn Gaither, former 'Fedora Kid', now fisherman, grumbled and rubbed his arms as he paused in the middle of the deserted road. He glanced to each side and suppressed a shudder. "It's less than 40 degrees and we live in California," he growled loudly, trying to create some scrap of warmth from friction. "Palm trees and warm beaches my foot. Why didn't I bring a jacket? Oh yeah, because Albert said he'd _pick me up_. Well, guess what Mister Business Man? You aren't here!" The boy shifted from foot to foot. _Why would Albert want to meet me here anyway?_On the cliff he was standing by, he could see the still ocean water just sitting. It didn't seem right to him. Nothing seemed right ever since the FAYZ wall came down. Quinn cast another nervous glance around. _What is tonight again?_"Ah, yes, Halloween," the boy murmured, answering his own question. Everything certainly fit the mood. A full moon was above him and cast pale, ominous shadows around very eerily placed stones and debris. Quinn wasn't sure if the moon was the real thing or a false illusion set up along with the FAYZ, but it sure didn't make that scraggly bush in front of him look any friendly. A cold breeze whispered through the bare trees behind him and caused the aged branches to squeal. The same wind pushed through the bush and on it came a rasping moan.

_"Quiiinn…" _

The boy jumped and spun around. His head jerked back and forth, trying to determine where the sound came from. Another icy breeze rushed right by him and he could swear he felt something graze his bare arms. Something cold and feathery. Quinn swallowed nervously and pulled absently at his hat. The loud wind came again along with the voice.

"_Quiiinn…"_

A loud howl sounded somewhere close behind the boy. He jumped and spun around with a squeak. Was is just him or was that large shadow getting closer? And did that thing coming closer have a tail? And a long snout?

"A-A-Albert… T-this isn't f-funny! C-c-come out n-now!" He stuttered, shaking ever so slightly. He forced out a nervous chuckle that even he thought was weak. The thing was coming closer and it let loose another demon howl. The shadowy tail was wagging faster and Quinn could tell it was a large canine. The boy let out frightened squeaks when the thing let out a menacing bark and leaped forward. Quinn stumbled backwards and tripped into the bushes. The briers snagged on his bare skin and he felt freezing hands grasp around the back of his neck. He screamed and struggled furiously to get out. He finally managed to roll out and scrambled to his feet.

"_Quiiinn…"_

The beast was coming closer, this time, a low growl under his breath. Quinn let out another terrified squeal before turning and bolting. A high pitch howl followed him as he staggered as far away as possible. Suddenly a huge shadow engulfed the supernatural light the moon had been giving him. He braced himself as he skidded to a stop. It didn't seem like the monster was following him anymore. His head swiveled around insanely fast, eyes as wide as an owl's. He couldn't see anything in front of him or behind him. The howl ringed out again along with the sound of a wet slither. The boy sucked in a deep lungful of air. A loud boom right next to Quinn almost caused to him to wet his pants. He let out pitiful squeak as a jagged white light burst out in front of him. As quickly as it had come, it was gone. The thunderous roar sounded again and the lightning kept flashing like strobe lights. A limping figure came slowly closer in the blinding bursts of lights. Quinn stepped back as the form let out a pained moan.

"_Quiiinn…" _

Quinn almost turned and bolted right there when suddenly the person was grasping Quinn by the shoulders with the grip of a dying man. In another quick strobe of light, the terrified boy could tell it was Edilio. "Aw, man, Edilio. I can't even begin to describe on how much I'm glad you're here. Insults over you being a wetback and Mexican aside, _you gotta help me out!_" It took Quinn another three more light bursts to realize something about Edilio was wrong. First of all the Honduran's breathing was just as jumpy as Quinn's as if he was struggling to breathe. Second, the boy's usually confident and calm expression was wide with panic. Quinn briefly wondered if it mirrored his own face. The third thing that sent red flags up was the blood. It seemed like it started in a wide gash in the soldier's forehead all the way disappearing in his torn shirt. He had two puncture marks by his jugular and red slashes ripped through the boy's shirt.

"E-E-Edilio…man, w-w-what happened to y-you?"

Edilio finally seemed to comprehend that Quinn was talking to him. He looked up at the boy with terror filled eyes. "The monster, Quinn… It'll get you too!" The Honduran's voice was laced with panic. The booming faded away and the fisherman felt silence roar in his ears. The shadow disappeared and the two were illuminated by the moon again.

Quinn nodded stiffly with quick bobs of his head, trying to hide the scream in his throat. "Y-y-yeah! The coyote! I saw it!"

Edilio shook his head weakly. "No… No… Not a coyote. A _goat sucker_!"

"A w-what?" His voice broke a few octaves higher on the word 'what'. Quinn was pretty sure there was some moisture in his pants now.

The injured solider sagged weakly against the fisherman. "A _Chupacabra!_ A monster with teeth as sharp as needles and eyes as red as coals. It moves in the night with howls and growls and catches its prey with brute strength."

Quinn was pretty sure he could hear Edilio's teeth rattling from being supported on Quinn's quaking body. "It's g-going to be o-okay, Edilio! I'll g-get you to L-Lana's right away."

The Honduran pushed away from Quinn and teetered on unsteady legs. "It's too late for me, Quinn. Run while you can." A loud howl caused the hairs on Quinn's neck to rise straight up. Edilio then did something incredibly weird—_especially for a Mexican, _Quinn thought, trying to still hold a frazzled sense of humor. The Honduran took his index and middle finger and pressed them against the two puncture marks then removed them and pressed the two fingers in the exact same spot on Quinn's neck.

"The mark of the _Chupacabra!"_Edilio let out in a high pitched warble. His eyes rolled back into his head and the Honduran pitched backwards. Again the two were thrown into darkness. Quinn barely breathed as he heard shuffling around where Edilio had fallen.

"E-Edilio, d-dude…? Are y-you alright?" Quinn's voice shook furiously and it was much higher than it was a few hours ago. A whoosh of air surrounded the boy and a set of red flashing eyes appeared right over the spot Edilio had been. A flash of light lit up the scene to reveal a hunched beast over a torn carcass.

"_Quiiinn…"_

The voice sounded faintly like Edilio's. The fisherman let out a loud scream, turned tail, and ran as fast as he could, not caring that the _Chupacabra's_ teeth could sink into his neck any second. By the bright flashes of light, Quinn could see something moving in fast from the corner in his eye. He screamed again when suddenly the ground in front of him disappeared. He took in multiple mouthfuls of sand as he tumbled down the sandy path that led to Clifftop. He got shakily to his feet, unsure if he was able to carry on. A nearby howl spurred him on his way to Clifftop. He could see someone sitting out on a balcony—_it has to be Lana, _his short-circuiting brain reasoned.

"_Lana!" _he shouted, running even faster. The figure suddenly turned towards him. Glowing red eyes peered hungrily at the boy. The eyes floated in midair before running straight off the edge of the balcony. It leaped over the railing and hung in the air for a few seconds. Loud growling surrounded the boy from all sides as the eyes and the monster they belonged to hit the ground, with Quinn shrieking all the while. It was just about to make its final charge when Clifftop turned upside down for Quinn and the hard ground rose up to meet him.

* * *

"_Sam, do you know what next Saturday is?"_

_The major hero of Perdido Beach nodded. "Sure. Halloween. Are you wanting to do something for it?"_

_A malicious grin lit up Edilio's face. "Yeah."_

_Sam looked wary. "What are you doing?"_

"_Have you ever heard of the legend of the _Chupacabra?"

* * *

_Albert smiled conspiratorially at Quinn and gestured for the fisherman to come closer. Quinn glanced nervously from side to side before sliding up next to the businessman of the FAYZ. "Yeah?"_

"_I have a proposition for you Quinn. One that'll help you out."_

_Quinn looked suspicious. "What do you mean?"_

"_Meet me a few hundred feet from Mother Mary's cliff and I'll explain. Fifty 'Bertos as a reward if you come."_

_The fisher looked hooked by the offer. Fifty 'Bertos was enough to buy one…no, wait, _two_new hats. He put a nonchalant expression on his face. "Yeah, sure, I'll be there." Quinn shook hands with Albert before slipping out the door. Edilio stood up quietly from where he was watching, unnoticed by one to the two entrepreneurs. _

"_Was that good?" Albert asked the Honduran._

_He grinned again. "Perfect." Now all he had to do was set the stage._

_

* * *

_

_Edilio looked questioningly at a small girl beside him. "So, Jill, are you sure you can copy a coyote howl?"_

_Time being spoiled by Nerezza and Orsay certainly had done the girl no good. She looked offended at the question. "I can mimic any sound I hear now," the Siren informed him. "See? Listen." She opened her mouth and out poured an eerie howl that caused the hairs on Edilio's neck to rise. _

"_That's…very good, Jill." He turned to the other two girls by him. "Taylor? You know what to do. Keep everyone informed throughout this entire mission."_

_The teleporting girl smiled excitedly at the Honduran. "This is going to be so awesome!" She could barely contain her excitement as she popped out to check on another set of people. Edilio looked at Brianna._

"_You have perhaps on of the most important jobs. Can you do it?"_

_Brianna looked almost as offended as Jill did. "I'm the Breeze! I can do anything."_

_Edilio nodded with a smile. "You have to be the wind that 'follows' Quinn. Can you get close without hitting him?" A sarcastic glare was his answer. "Also, you'll need to carry Jill around with the howling." Brianna nodded and was about to disappear when Edilio grabbed her arm. He looked at her expectantly while pointing to a bucket of freezing sea water with the other hand. _

_Brianna groaned loudly and plunged her hands into the cold water. "This is just like Coates…" she muttered angrily. "I don't see why my hands have to be freezing!"_

"_Because your hands are the grip of death." Brianna rolled her eyes and was gone with a gust of wind. But not before a quick splash of cold water hit Edilio._

_

* * *

_

_Edilio was perhaps the happiest person in the entire FAYZ at the moment. Everything was going according to plan. Quinn had even tripped into the bush the Edilio had set out in a low hope he would. He was thrilled Lana and others agreed to help out. Not only did the Healer loan them her balcony, but she also let them borrow Patrick. It took the two a while, but eventually Lana and Edilio managed to train Patrick to be as coyote as possible. Edilio had almost thought it all lost when the stupid mutt started barking and wagging his tail. From past experiences, Edilio knew neither coyotes nor _Chupacabras_ wagged their tails or barked happily and he was sure Quinn knew that too. But the added elements only seemed to terrify the boy more. _

_The next part where Edilio actually acted in was the best. He was able to get Dekka to darken the skies with something large that was suddenly 'defying gravity'. Sam supplied the strobe lighting and Orc volunteered to be the thunderous booms. After hearing that it was Quinn they were having revenge on, the rock monster and Howard—mostly Howard, though—were just as excited. Apparently, Howard had filled Edilio in, that Quinn had sold his 'Orc-man' a bad fish a few days ago. Edilio didn't care why just as long as he had his thunder. _

_For Edilio's part, they had gotten Hunter to donate a rotting carcass he had found in the forest. After Dekka had raised the dark shades on the night, the team quickly placed the carcass where Edilio was just at and the Honduran knelt over the body as _Chupacabra-ish_ as possible. He held two reflective buttons that looked extremely close to eyes at where he guessed the eye level would be. _

_Once Quinn had fled, he passed the eyes off to Taylor who took them to Dekka at the final part of the trick. She waited patiently on Lana's balcony and waited for Quinn to come. When he started to frantically call for Lana, Dekka turned around with the eyes and jumped off the balcony. She slowed her fall and made it look much more threatening. The moment she touched ground, Edilio was delighted to see Quinn faint. _

_

* * *

_

The group had brought Quinn back to his home, made sure his heart was still beating, and left him alone. Three days after that and the fisherman still hadn't emerged from his safe-haven. The fishers of the FAYZ were starting to get irritated of having to command their boats themselves. Sam was debating on whether or not to go force Quinn out and explain what had happened was all just a joke. He glanced sternly over at Edilio, who still had a grin plastered on his face since the moment Sam gave him permission to take revenge out on Quinn almost two weeks ago.

"I never should have let you do this. He's probably going to be scared for life. You should have told me what you had planned first."

Edilio shrugged, looking very smug with himself.

Sam continued. "And what is this whole '_Chupacabra'_ stuff anyway? What is it?"

The Honduran's grin widened. "Back in Honduras, we used to have a neighbor who was convinced a monster was killing his chickens and goats. My brother and I played a similar trick on him although this one was much more satisfying."

Sam shook his head sadly at Edilio. "And I thought you were the good cop, man."

Edilio shrugged again. "He got what he deserved. Both of them did."

"What did poor Quinn ever go to you anyway to make you want to take such a...complicated revenge on him?"

"He kept making jokes about my heritage," Edilio sniffed. "I thought maybe a 'culture shock' would fix that."

Sam blinked. "Would not a simple 'please stop' work?"

Edilio crossed his arms and leaned against the nearest house. "Yeah, maybe."

At that moment, Quinn decided to make his first appearance in the few days. He poked his head slowly and tentatively out the door. His eyes were red and baggy and they darted nervously around the houses surrounding his. He froze when he saw Sam and Edilio.

"Happy Halloween, Quinn!" Edilio called. He took his index and middle finger, pressed them against his neck, and held them out towards Quinn. "May you be protected from the _Chupacabras!"_

Quinn stared at him in shock for a moment before squeaking loudly and disappearing back inside his house. Sam glared at Edilio as if asking 'was that really necessary?'.

The Honduran shrugged. "What?"

Sam rolled his eyes and vowed to himself that he would never get on the sheriff's bad side or he too would feel the wrath of the _Chupacabra. _

_

* * *

_

**Ahhh... Poor Quinn. I don't know why everyone is against him.  
****So was it terrible? Good? Just plain pointless? I'd appreciate if you readers let me know. Also, thanks for reading!**

**Happy Halloween!**


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